New Britain man charged in Plainville shopping plaza standoff

Police first got a 911 call about two shots fired behind Lowe’s Home Improvement store at the Connecticut Commons plaza on Friday afternoon. Multiple agencies rushed to the scene and found a man with what they believed was a gun.

Police sent out a text message to alert people to evacuate the area immediately.

Sergeant Mark Connoy said they tried multiple times to negotiate with the man, but he didn’t respond to any questions or command. Hours later police used a beanbag shotgun to bring the man down. That’s when they learned the gun was actually a an unloaded plastic BB gun.

The man was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. He refused to talk with police but with some leads from the ambulance crew and the hospital, police eventually determined a possible identity.

On Saturday morning, police the officially identified the man as 44 year old Eduardo Rivera of New Britain. Police now believe he made the false 9-1-1 call about shots being fired. Rivera is charged with Falsely Reporting an Incident 1st Degree, Interfering with an Officer, Breach of Peace 2nd Degree, Reckless Endangerment 1st Degree, and Carrying a Dangerous Weapon. He is currently being held on a $100,000 surety bond.